Police captain investigating former Knysna mayor’s murder killed in shootout

A police captain deployed to investigate the murder of former Knysna mayor Aubrey Tsengwa was shot dead in a shootout at the Sewende Laan informal settlement on Wednesday, and a suspect also died, police said.

Incident at Sewende Laan

Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said the shooting occurred at the Sewende Laan informal settlement in Uniondale Road. The captain, aged 50, was attached to the provincial Tactical Response Team and had been deployed in the area as part of investigations into the murder of councillor and former mayor Aubrey Tsengwa, as well as two others in separate shooting incidents last week.

What police said

Brigadier Potelwa described the operation as an effort to follow up on intelligence about illegal firearms. She was quoted saying:

“At the time of the captain’s death, [our] integrated team was executing an operation following up on information about illegal firearms.”

Police said the captain was shot during a shootout with a suspect. The suspect, aged 38, also died. Two firearms were found in his possession, Potelwa said.

Aftermath and support

Potelwa said psychosocial support was being provided to the SAPS team at the scene and to the captain’s colleagues in Cape Town.

Related killings under investigation

The captain had been investigating the fatal shooting of Aubrey Tsengwa, 48. Potelwa said Tsengwa represented ward 8 and was Knysna’s executive mayor from August 2022 until February 2025. He was shot dead in Ngxalo Street, Joodsekamp, on Wednesday last week while driving home with several passengers; one passenger was shot in the arm.

The next day, Potelwa said, former ward 7 councillor Mandla Matiwane, 47, and Knysna Codeta chair Mandla Tyololo, 48, were shot dead in Bongani at about 9pm. All three men were ANC members.

Court progress

Potelwa said three suspects had appeared in court for Tsengwa’s murder. The three were remanded in custody after appearing in the Knysna Magistrate’s Court on Monday, and the case is due to return to court on Monday. The state is opposing bail, she said.